December Durable Goods Orders Rise, for Second Straight Increase
rders for durable goods in the United States rose 0.6% in December on higher demand for machinery, computers and other business equipment, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The increase to $200.3 billion follows a revised 1.8% rise in November, Commerce said. Excluding transportation equipment, orders rose 2.1% after falling 0.9% in November.
Durable orders, which are goods made to last at least three years, are often looked to as an indicator of future factory activity. Factory activity drives demand for transportation services, particularly trucking, which hauls finished products and components to and from production plants.
The report said December orders for computers and related products rose 8.8% after rising 5.9%, while orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, rose 1.8% after rising 0.9% in November.
Shipments, which the government uses to calculate quarterly gross domestic product, fell 1.7% after rising 2%, Commerce said.
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